1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bar code printing apparatus and, more particularly, to a bar code printing apparatus capable of leaving predetermined blanks on the right-hand and left-hand sides of each bar code when it is printed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, bar codes are utilized extensively as identification codes of diverse goods and articles in accordance with various bar code standards such as JAN (Japan Article Number), EAN (European Article Number) and the Code 39. Bar codes are printed on the packages and labels of various goods and articles. There is one requirement for these bar codes to be read accurately by bar code reader: that each bar code must be flanked on its right-hand and left-hand sides by sufficient blanks (called margins or quiet zones). The absence of the margins often makes it impossible for the bar code reader subsequently to read the bar code. Where a character string is modified in a specific manner (e.g., expanded in width as in italics), the rightmost end of the character string can overlap with the leftmost end of the bar code.
Tape printing devices capable of printing characters and symbols on tapes used as the printing medium are known (tapes typically measure about 10 mm and about 24 mm in width). However, in the past, tape printing devices have not been capable of printing bar codes on the tape printing medium with sufficient margins to ensure accurate reading of the printed bar codes by a bar code reader.